Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 7 - Chapter 4

Christmas Eve

Thursday, December 24th

After changing into his gym clothes, Koutarou returned to the inner room. Ruth was there, also in gym clothes and preparing to go out jogging.

“Hmm, so you started with jogging?”

In addition to the invaders, Shizuka was over too. She was drinking tea that Ruth had just poured for her, and she was quite curious about what they were doing.

“Yes. According to Satomi-sama, I lack the basic physical strength fighting requires.”

“That’s true. If you’re going to punch and kick, you need at least a certain level of muscle.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“There’s no need to feel bad. Everyone starts like that.”

“That’s right. You can do it if you just keep at it.”

The look on Ruth’s face indicated she was embarrassed about her current lack of strength, but Koutarou and Shizuka were quick to encourage her.

If anything, Ruth-san already has all the knowledge she needs about combat. She’s this strong without even having the muscles to back it up...

Since Shizuka actually had firsthand experience fighting Ruth, her encouragement was quite genuine. She knew what Ruth was capable of. In fact, a chill ran down her spine when she imagined Ruth after building up some muscle.

“Koutarou, when are you getting back today? I was wondering when we should start our practice.”

“Ah, about that... Today’s no good.”

“No good? Why not? Do you have some other business?”

Theia was shocked when Koutarou said that he wouldn’t be able to practice today. She would have yelled at him for that a few months ago, but not now. She had matured considerably, and she knew that athletic Koutarou wouldn’t skip out on practice without a proper reason.

“Yeah. It might take all night.”

“I see...”

Hearing Koutarou’s answer, Theia’s shoulders drooped despondently. While he felt bad about it, he continued talking.

“And on that note, there’s something I’d like to ask all of you.”

Koutarou was addressing the six girls in the room.

“Okay. What is it?”

Sanae, who was floating next to Koutarou, answered right away without a hint of hesitation. She could no longer imagine turning down anything Koutarou might ask.

“As long as I don’t have to freeze.”

Yurika also wanted to help Koutarou with whatever it was as long as it didn’t mean going out in the cold again. Lately, Koutarou had been giving her food and helping her with her homework, so she wanted to do something for him in return.

“Sure, but it’ll cost you, Koutarou.”

Kiriha smiled in typical Kiriha fashion. She enjoyed all things in her own little way. This was no different, and she was thinking of ways she could tease Koutarou over it.

“I’m game. I’m free today anyways.”

Normally Christmas was time to spend with family, but since Shizuka had already lost hers, she was grateful if Koutarou had something for them to do together. Shizuka knew all too well the loneliness of standing on the sidelines while everyone else was together.

“...Um...”

Theia was the only one who didn’t answer right away. Instead, she turned her eyes away from Koutarou and looked at Ruth.

Heehee...

Ruth smiled slightly and nodded when she saw Theia’s expression. Seeing that, Theia’s expression eased up.

“Very well, let’s hear what it is. I’ll allow it for all your hard work as of late.”

Theia could only express herself in her usual high and mighty fashion, but it left Ruth, who knew how Theia really felt, desperately trying to hold back her laughter.

In the end, Koutarou left to go jogging with Ruth without explaining the details.

“There’s something I want to talk to you all about, so could you come by the knitting society’s club room around four?”

That was all he’d said before he departed with Ruth, leaving the five remaining girls with confused expressions on their faces.

“Just what does he want to talk about?”

“You haven’t heard anything either, Mackenzie-kun?”

“Nope. He just told me he had something to talk about and asked me to come to the knitting society’s club room.”

Kenji was apparently equally stumped. He’d met up with the girls on their way to school, but since he hadn’t been given any details either, he was just as confused as they were. So as the four invaders plus Shizuka and Kenji walked towards the school, they all pondered what Koutarou wanted to talk about.

“Uh... I just hope it won’t get too cold...”

“Couldn’t you do something about that outfit?”

Yurika was walking in the back of the line wearing layer upon layer of clothing. Because it was now the end of December, the sun set early and the temperature was dropping rapidly at this hour. In preparation for that, Yurika had put on nearly all of the clothes she owned. She was practically twice her normal size like that, so it was no surprise that Sanae was astounded by her silly and pathetic appearance.

“Just what is Satomi-kun thinking if he hasn’t even told you, Matsudaira-kun?”

Since Kenji was there, Kiriha put on her honor student act and smiled. The smile, however, was quite genuine. She was eagerly anticipating seeing what Koutarou was up to.

“It’s definitely not anything important. That’s not the kind of vibe he was giving off,” Theia commented.

“You can never be too sure with him,” Kenji responded with a shake of his head. “Since it’s Christmas, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he called us over to introduce his girlfriend.”

“Really?! Do you think Satomi-kun actually got a girlfriend?! I can’t even picture it!”

Shizuka immediately perked up when the conversation went in that direction. Her mind was racing as she imagined Koutarou going out with various girls in their class.

“Well, he’s always been popular,” Kenji shrugged.

“What?! Really?!” Shizuka squealed with delight.

“Whaaaaat?! You’re kidding!” the other girls screamed in astonishment.

They then surrounded Kenji and demanded that he explain. The entire group was surprised. Sanae even forgot that Kenji couldn’t see her and demanded an explanation from him as well. Kiriha was the only one who remained calm.

“Come on, give us the details!”

“Is that true, Mackenzie-kun?!”

“I can’t accept this!”

“Tell us everything! Spare no detail!”

“Uh, sure...”

Flustered by the pressure from the girls, Kenji adjusted his glasses and began explaining.

“Kou’s stupid, so you wouldn’t expect him to be popular.”

“Right.”

“Yeah, that’d be weird.”

Everyone nodded at Kenji’s words. Koutarou wasn’t popular. The girls were sure of it. At school, he was never surrounded by the girls in class and he was always playing around with the boys.

“Well, I can’t imagine Satomi-kun being a ladies’ man.”

“Yeah, that’s the kind of thing I’d expect from Matsudaira-san instead.”

“Now that I think about it, Koutarou said something about holding a grudge against Glasses-kun regarding Valentine’s chocolates...”

It was true. The girls at school flocked to Kenji, not Koutarou. There were always girls around him. He had a lot of female fans because of his good looks, his manners, and his ability to do anything well.

“But that’s only on the surface,” Kenji explained.

“On the surface, you say?”

Kenji let out a loud sigh and slumped his shoulders. Complex feelings were welling up inside of him.

“In reality, there are always a few girls falling for him. And they’re always the kind of wonderful girls I fall for!”

Kenji clenched his fist and put extra emphasis on those last few words. It pained him to admit, but he was really speaking from the soul.

In other words, it’s a matter of quantity versus quality!

It was true that Koutarou wasn’t popular. But the girls that Kenji fell for were all in love with Koutarou. There had always been girls over the years that were able to appreciate the positive qualities Koutarou had.

“The truly wonderful girls all understand Koutarou’s good points. Just how many times have my heartfelt confessions been rejected because of him?!”

The most recent example was Harumi. Kenji would have loved to go out with someone like her. She’d be the type of girlfriend he could brag about to anyone. But Harumi loved Koutarou. Anyone with any insight at all could tell that.

Well, everyone probably chooses him because I keep thinking about things like that...

Kenji was aware of his own faults. When he set his eyes on a girl, he was always playing some angle or another. He wasn’t as straightforward as Koutarou. All the girls Kenji was interested in noticed that slight difference, and that seemed to be why things never went well for him. In other words, Kenji liked the kind of earnest girls that were interested in Koutarou.

I guess I’m unexpectedly old-fashioned... In the end, I can’t really laugh at Kou...

Kenji sighed once more while smiling wryly.

“Don’t at least some of you know what I mean?” he asked, looking around at the girls.

Recently, the girls that were in front of him now were all getting along well with Koutarou. His intuition told him that, regardless of whether they loved him or not, they at least all saw Koutarou’s good side.

“That’s true. You would feel more at ease with him as your boyfriend than Mackenzie-kun.”

Shizuka laughed. She could see most of what Kenji was talking about.

Despite all of us girls hanging around him, he’s still so honorable and sincere...

That’s why Shizuka came down to room 106 to play daily. It was because she trusted Koutarou.

“That’s how a man should behave! Being unfaithful is unforgivable!”

Yurika was worried about Harumi.

I know Sakuraba-senpai is in good hands with Satomi-san because he’s a good guy! I could never trust her to someone who has a new girl every day!

She would be troubled if Koutarou was as popular with the ladies as Kenji was. She would always be worried for Harumi. But the way he was, Koutarou only had to take Harumi and Yurika out on dates.

“Duh! All that’s a given!”

Slightly angry, Sanae stuck her tongue out at Kenji. But he didn’t seem to mind. He couldn’t see her, after all.

I have this charm, so I know that better than anyone!

Sanae held a charm with the words “family safety” embroidered on it in her hand. To her, as long as she had that, it was proof of Koutarou’s worth as a man.

“That’s right. Koutarou’s not as much of a schemer as you are.”

Theia nodded as if that was plain fact.

Of course my knight isn’t like that. Knights are paragons of virtue. And if he didn’t meet those expectations, I wouldn’t have given him a title like that!

Theia was no longer trying to make Koutarou her vassal because of her trial. She was doing it for her own sake.

“It looks like you all know what he’s talking about.”

Hearing everyone’s response, Kiriha smiled.

So in the end, everyone has faith in Koutarou. He’s the earnest man that I revealed my true intentions to after all...

Kiriha believed that if she didn’t already have another man she loved, she would probably want to go out with Koutarou. So she understood what Kenji meant, and she could imagine how the other girls must feel about him.

“So that’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if he suddenly introduced us to a girlfriend.”

“That won’t happen.”

“That’s too big of a leap, Mackenzie-kun.”

“I won’t allow it!”

“That’s impossible.”

“Heh, that might just be the bitterness talking, Matsudaira-san.”

The girls understood what Kenji was trying to say, but at the same time, they completely rejected the idea that Koutarou might have a girlfriend. They hadn’t noticed any signs of something like that while living together, so they didn’t believe it could be true.

“No, really. You can’t be so sure. He could show up with a girlfriend at any time.”

“He’s not like you, Mackenzie-kun.”

“That’s right.”

“If that was the case, he would have told me sooner.”

“If it was Ruth, I could forgive him.”

“Talking like that, you guys are just going to make Matsudaira-san feel bad.”

The girls began sensing that, while they might not be aware of it, there could be plenty of other girls that were indeed in love with Koutarou.

As Theia opened the door to the knitting society’s club room, she was greeted with the sound of several small explosions. Surprised by the noise, she jumped back.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Although Yurika had been the only one to scream, the other girls and Kenji all curiously peeked into the club room to find out what was going on.

“Merry Christmas!”

Inside the room stood Koutarou, Harumi, and Ruth, plus several familiar faces from the drama club. They were all holding the spent party poppers that they had just used.

“Come on, don’t just space out like that! Come in, come in!”

While they were still unable to process what was going on, Theia and the others were pulled in by the drama club president.

“‘Drama club celebration and Christmas party’?”

As Theia and the others were pulled into the room, they noticed the banner hung up on the back wall, decorations all over the room, and a large quantity of food set out. Seeing all of that, it was finally obvious what was going on.

“Whoa, so you’re holding a Christmas party today!”

“Oh, was that all...”

“All right! There’s lots of food!”

“Yurika-chan, you’re drooling.”

“Heh, looks like Satomi-kun deceived us all.”

Koutarou had called Theia and the others to school for the party. Since it was serving as both a Christmas party and a congratulatory celebration for the play being held next year, everyone involved in the play had been invited.

“What took you so long?”

“Koutarou, just what is this commotion?”

Although they understood what was going on now, there were still a lot of unanswered questions. Theia looked to Koutarou, who was approaching them wearing a Santa outfit. But it was Ruth, also wearing a Santa outfit, that explained the situation to Theia.

“Your Highness, this party was planned by the drama club president. We weren’t told what was about to happen until just a moment ago. The only ones who knew were the few people helping with preparations, including Satomi-sama and Harumi-sama.”

The drama club president had planned the party, and since it was supposed to be a surprise, the preparations had to be carried out in secret. Koutarou was known to be tight-lipped, so he was asked to help out since preparing for the party was too much for the president alone. Koutarou got Harumi involved for the same reason. Koutarou’s role was to prepare the decorations, but because he lacked any sort of talent for that kind of thing, he relied on Harumi. And on the day of the event, Koutarou had asked Ruth to help him with the food. They’d gone out jogging together, so it was easy to fill her in without letting everyone know.

They’d ended up deciding to hold the party in the knitting society’s club room because the drama club’s didn’t have enough room. It was already full of props and set pieces for their upcoming play, so there wasn’t anywhere to even squeeze in a table. In contrast, the knitting society only had two people in it, so they had plenty of space to spare in their club room since it wasn’t used for all that much. That’s also why they’d needed Harumi, the knitting society president, in on things.

“That’s right. The president’s a big tease. You only had to mention it.”

“Yeah. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when you told me you had something important to discuss.”

The drama club members crowded around and added to Ruth’s story. They had only learned the truth after entering the room a few moments ago, the same as Theia and the others had just now.

“I see... Now who was the one that said Koutarou would announce something shocking?”

After learning the truth, Shizuka looked at Kenji and grinned.

“What are you talking about, Landlord-san?”

“Well you see, Satomi-kun, Mackenzie-kun said—”

“Wah! Wait, wait, Kasagi-san! Time out!”

Shizuka was about to reveal what Kenji had said, but he hurriedly cut her off and pulled her over to a corner of the room.

“Kyah! Mackenzie-kun, you pervert!”

“Don’t say things like that! Please! It’ll give me a bad reputation!”

“Wh-What?”

Shizuka let out an, oddly enough, cheerful scream as Kenji began to panic. Not understanding what was going on, Koutarou just blankly stared at them and tilted his head in confusion. When he did, the Santa hat on his head bounced humorously. The bobble dangling from the end of it was actually something he and Harumi had made the day before yesterday. They had plenty of yarn to spare and they were easy to make.

“Yaaay! Let’s eat!”

Though he was puzzled by Kenji and Shizuka’s behavior, Koutarou returned to his senses when he heard Yurika’s voice.

“Hey, Yurika, at least hold out until after the toast.”

“Huwah?”

“Hahh... Nothing. Never mind. Just eat.”

“Hmph...”

Koutarou had tried to stop Yurika as she was starting to pick out food from the table, but he gave up when he saw how pathetic she looked. Sanae followed up by poking his slumped shoulders.

“Koutarou, did you pick up the new job so—”

When Sanae uttered the phrase “new job,” Theia and Kiriha looked over to Koutarou.

“Yeah, it was for this. The drama club will end up picking up the tab, but they needed some immediate funds to make it all happen.”

Koutarou had taken a second part-time job for the sake of the party. Although the drama club would cover the expenses eventually, they’d needed some cash to make all the preparations. Since he wasn’t willing to tap into the money his dad had given him for living expenses, Koutarou and the drama club president had both secretly started part-time jobs to foot the bill. The drama club president had actually worked helping to make cakes at the bakery Koutarou handed out flyers for.

“So that’s why...”

A smile crept across Theia’s lips.

I see. So it was for our sake...

It wasn’t for any one person in particular. It was for all of them. Even though all he’d really done was get a part-time job, that side of Koutarou made Theia happy.

“I was surprised too.”

“Hmm...”

I knew it. Koutarou just has to become Her Highness’s knight, no matter what...

Everything that had happened today only further served to reaffirm Ruth’s feelings on the matter.

“My my... If you needed money, you could have just said so.”

“I can’t pull my friends in just for the sake of money.”

“Satomi-kun hates shallow relationships after all.”

Kiriha kept up her act as she smiled at Koutarou.

This’ll give me an excuse to tease Koutarou for a while.

Despite her pleasant smile, a certain mischievousness could be seen in the depths of her eyes. But before she could tease Koutarou any more, they were approached by the drama club president, who was also wearing a Santa outfit.

“Thanks for your help, Satomi-kun. You show some real promise.”

“Thank you, President.”

With the drama club president, there were a total of four people wearing Santa outfits at the party: her, Koutarou, Ruth, and Harumi. They were the four people that helped with the preparations.

“Here, Satomi-kun. Something to drink.”

“Thank you, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Here, I have some for everyone.”

Harumi came over carrying a tray full of glasses.

At first I was surprised because I thought Satomi-kun was asking me out on a date... but I feel like this is much more like us. Don’t you think so too, Nijino-san?

While handing out drinks, Harumi glanced over at her best friend, Yurika. Yurika, however, was far too busy stuffing her face to notice.

“Does everyone have a drink? We’re going to have a toast.”

The drama club president took the initiative on the toast. Since she was working as the stage director, she would be the one to give it. And following her lead, everyone in the room raised their glasses.

“Koutarou, I want orange juice.”

“Okay, okay.”

Koutarou was holding up two glasses, one with apple juice and one with orange juice.

“Well then, with the lonely end of the year approaching for us singles, here’s to the success of the play next year! Merry Christmas, everyone!”

“Merry Christmas!” everyone cheered.

And with that, their Christmas party had officially begun.

As the party kicked off, the guests spent their time freely talking and eating, but after about an hour, they started playing games. The console belonged to the drama club president, and they’d rented the large TV just for the occasion. It was something they’d only been able to do thanks to Koutarou and the president’s part-time jobs.

“Hhnnngh... My stomach hurts so much I can’t move...”

By that time, Yurika had started bellyaching. After ignoring everyone and all the friendly conversation over the past hour to purely focus on eating, her stomach had been pushed past its limit.

“Is this stomach of yours because of all the clothes you’re wearing, or because you’ve eaten too much?”

Sanae poked Yurika’s bloated belly.

“That hurts. Please don’t poke me there.”

“So it’s from overeating.”

Sanae continued to poke at Yurika’s stomach. Although she was partially dumbfounded, she seemed to be enjoying herself.

“Waaaaah, my stomach hurts!”

“Show some restraint then, you idiot!”

“But there’s no guarantee that all this good food will still be here later. If I don’t eat my fill now, who knows when I’ll get to eat something so good again?!”

“Is it really that big of a deal? Jeez...”

After laying Yurika down on the couch, Koutarou scratched his head. He felt like he was watching over an incompetent little sister.

“Yurika, what was the most delicious?”

“I-It was all delicious, but the pizza over there was the best. There’s three kinds of cheese, and it was like it melted in my mouth.”

“I see. Koutarou, let’s go eat some!”

“Okay, okay.”

Yurika was one thing, but Koutarou couldn’t ignore the bad influence she was having on others. It would be problematic if Sanae turned into a second Yurika.

I guess I’ll get her something good to eat for the end of the year. If she keeps up like this, it’ll have a negative influence on Sanae’s upbringing...

Although he was going to be reimbursed for what he’d spent on the party, Koutarou was starting to get the impression it was going to go straight into Yurika’s stomach.

“Yurika, I have some stomach medicine.”

“Thank you, Kiriha-san. But there’s no room in my stomach for it...”

“Ho! We’ll grind it up into powder for you, ho!”

“It’ll be easier to drink that way than taking it in tablet form.”

“Nooo! It tastes more bitter when you grind it up!”

Y-Yurika...

Koutarou took Sanae with him to go get some of the pizza that Yurika had recommended, but as he heard the discussion behind him, his stomach hurt a little bit too.

Are you really okay with living your life this way?

Koutarou couldn’t help but worry about her future.

“Hey, Koutarou.”

When Koutarou and Sanae arrived at the table with the pizza on it, Theia walked up as well.

“Are you already done playing?”

“Yeah. I beat everyone, so they chased me out.”

Theia smiled wryly as she looked in the direction of the game console. There was a large crowd around the TV. Right now they were taking turns playing a four-player game against one another. Harumi, the drama club president, and two other girls—not a single one of which were any good at games—were having a go at each other.

Theia, who loved games and loved competition, had won too many times and ended up being chased off by the others. They’d been keeping the winner on to play against the next person, but the line had to be drawn somewhere.

“Just hold back a little, will you?”

“Are you telling me to lose on purpose?”

When Koutarou suggested Theia had gone a little overboard, her cheeks puffed up. The way she frowned and looked up at Koutarou made her look much younger than him.

“It’s not like there was anyone you had to prove yourself to or an opponent you had to defeat, right?”

“...”

But hearing him say that, Theia’s cheeks shrunk down to normal size.

“You’re right. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Theia smiled and looked back to the TV once more.

So she’s only able to let her guard down and make faces like that while on Earth, huh?

Looking at her profile, Koutarou recalled what Ruth had said. Theia was only able to act like a girl her age should because she was on Earth. Knowing that, Koutarou wanted to help her. Seeing the way she behaved at the party only reaffirmed that.

“Your Highness, Satomi-sama, have some food.”

Ruth walked over and presented Koutarou and Theia with plates full of food. After looking at the two of them, Ruth gently smiled.

“Thanks, Ruth.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Koutarou, the pizza!”

“I got it, I got it.”

While Theia was reaching for the plate in Ruth’s right hand, the plate in Ruth’s left hand came floating towards Koutarou. That was thanks to Sanae’s psychic powers, and the plate landed in Koutarou’s hands just as she had planned. It was the kind of supernatural phenomenon that would freak out anyone who didn’t know any better, but fortunately, the only people who saw it already knew about Sanae.

“Koutarou, say ‘ahh’!”

“Ahh...”

Following up, Sanae controlled Koutarou’s right arm and used it to bring the pizza from the plate to his mouth. All Koutarou did on his own was open his mouth.

“Oh, this really is delicious.”

“At least something good came from Yurika trying everything.”

The rich taste of cheese and refreshing acidity of tomato spread throughout Koutarou’s mouth. The texture was exquisite too. It was quite satisfying for Koutarou, and for Sanae who was clinging on to his back.

As Koutarou happily chewed on the pizza, he noticed Theia looking around the room.

What’s she looking at?

Interested, Koutarou began following her glance. Almost as if she was trying to answer Koutarou’s question, Theia muttered something.

“Everyone’s looking very motivated.”

Theia wasn’t looking at the room, but rather the people in it—the drama club members and everyone else involved in the play. Their smiles and energetic voices filled the normally quiet club room.

“They get along well and their teamwork is excellent.”

“Yes. If it stays like this, the next play is sure to be a success as well.”

Ruth, who was carrying a tray now, was the one to respond to Theia. She also joined in looking around the room.

“That would be great, but it’s going to be quite difficult.”

Their next play was quite a different undertaking. Since it was the climax of the story, it would be far more difficult to pull off than the previous play. In that light, Theia figured there was a fifty-fifty chance of the play succeeding.

“Stupid.”

Koutarou responded by whopping Theia on the top of her head with his now empty plate.

“Ow! What are you doing, Koutarou? How dare you hit a princess with a plate?!”

“That’s it. That’s the spirit.”

Next, Koutarou lightly tapped Theia’s head twice with the palm of his hand.

“...Huh?”

“You’re the leader, so you have to keep showing everyone that you’re in high spirits.”

“Koutarou...”

Theia had assumed that Koutarou was just bullying her again, so her shock at what he’d ended up saying was more than enough to make her forget her anger.

“You’ve been thinking about the people around you more lately, but at the same time, I feel like your spirit’s drooped.”

Playing games earlier was a good example. The more mature Theia had grown to become considerate of other people, but there were times it was better to let that go. This was one of those times. Theia wasn’t the stage director, but as the writer of the play, she had a significant effect on how the play turned out. It would be for the better if someone in that kind of influential position didn’t hold herself back at all. In fact, the actors would probably feel better if she had the kind of spirit to pull everyone along with her on this ride.

That was Koutarou speaking from experience. The worst part of baseball for him was seeing his coach look nervous in the middle of a game.

“It’s better to just do things sometimes instead of worrying too much.”

“But...”

Even though he said that, Theia’s expression didn’t change. She couldn’t help the anxiety. She wasn’t sure if she could lead these people the way she needed to. She wasn’t sure if she could get people to obey her like the Silver Princess that Harumi was playing could. But this wasn’t always something Theia had worried about. It was a worry that had been born from Theia’s newfound consideration of others.

“Don’t worry. Everyone would follow you the way you are now,” Koutarou calmly said while indicating the people in the room with a nod of his head.

Before Theia knew it, several sets of eyes were focused on her. Everyone had stopped eating and playing games for the moment to look at Theia. Just as Koutarou had said, everyone had high expectations of her, and they were more than ready to follow her lead.

“Everyone... I see...”

Theia’s worry was deeply rooted, but Koutarou helped her get a little bit of a handle on it.

Regardless of whether or not I can do it, there are times when I just have to, huh?

When Theia realized that, her expression and eyes began to brighten up. Her smile was fierce and full of confidence. It was the appearance of a strong leader.

“That’s it. That’s more like it.”

Seeing Theia like that, Koutarou flashed a relieved smile. Her current countenance was just what he had been hoping for.

“Just who do you think you’re talking to, Satomi Koutarou?”

“To the princess I can’t help but respect.”

Koutarou jokingly bowed a little to Theia. He then took the chance to eat some more. All of the food was great, not just the pizza.

“If you’re going to go that far, then I trust you’re prepared.”

“That’s not it.”

With his plate now empty again, Koutarou struck Theia on top of her head for a second time. It was a sign telling her to be more aggressive. Theia understood that much.

“Then prepare yourself, Satomi Koutarou! You and I will walk this road of blood, sweat, and tears together!”

With Koutarou’s challenge, Theia was able to boldly make her declaration. That was the kind of Theia Koutarou thought they needed now.

“As you wish, my princess.”

“I trust you won’t go back on your word.”

“I promise, Theia. I’ll make the play a success.”

There was no hesitation in Koutarou’s answer. He had his heart set on making the play a success together with Theia.

“All right!”

After Theia and Koutarou nodded at each other, Theia raised her voice and addressed everyone at the party.

“Listen up, men! We’ll make this play a success no matter what! Got that?!”

Her powerful voice filled the room.

“Yeaaaaah!” the whole crowd roared back in unison.

Just like she had said, the people gathered here made an excellent team.

Koutarou and Harumi headed for the school gate together. It was now past 7:30 PM. The party that the drama club was hosting was still ongoing, but the two of them had snuck out.

The reason for that was because it was time for Harumi to go home. She had her last checkup of the year scheduled for the next morning, so she had to limit what she was eating for the day and make sure she stayed rested. As an extra precaution, she’d decided to retire early for the night. She was taking a taxi home, and since it would be picking her up from the school gate, Koutarou had offered to accompany her. Even though it was just at the edge of the school grounds, things could still be dangerous at night.

“It’s certainly gotten a lot colder, hasn’t it, Satomi-kun?”

“It’s been cold for a while now, so maybe it’s going to snow.”

Now passing through the school gate, the two of them stared up into the night sky. It was cloudy enough that not a single star could be seen, but it was cold enough to see every breath.

The taxi still hadn’t arrived, and the bus stop in front of the school gate was empty. There was only a single streetlight illuminating the area. Seeing that alone made Koutarou happy that he’d accompanied Harumi.

“A white Christmas would be wonderful.”

“You’re the Silver Princess, Sakuraba-senpai. Can’t you just conjure up some snow?”

“Ahaha, Satomi-kun, please don’t be too unreasonable.”

Laughter escaped Harumi’s pretty lips, and the cold air immediately turned it into a white haze.

“If you’re going to tease me like that, I’ll make you fight a real dragon, Satomi-kun.”

“I would really prefer not to.”

Koutarou started laughing alongside her. Their visible breaths intermingled before dispersing with the wind.

“But still, it sure is cold.”

“We were in such high spirits before, so maybe it just feels colder than it really is.”

It was only minutes ago that the two of them were in the middle of a lively party. Koutarou and even Harumi had joined in the festivities and had a good time playing around excitedly. Their current situation was the opposite of that.

“High spirits, huh? I can’t quite imagine you horsing around or anything like a tomboy, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Neither can I. Jeez...”

Harumi put her hand in front of her mouth and began giggling. But even though she seemed happy, her body began lightly shivering.

You really are freezing, aren’t you, Sakuraba-senpai? Ah, that’s right!

Seeing Harumi so cold, Koutarou remembered what he was carrying.

“I have just the thing, Sakuraba-senpai.”

Koutarou shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out what was inside.

“A hat?”

“This one’s mine. I have something else for you.”

Koutarou had pulled out a red Santa hat. It was the one he had been wearing at the start of the party.

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s not really something to get excited about.”

Koutarou quickly put on the hat and reached for something else, this time from his inside jacket pocket. It was something he had been planning on giving Harumi as a Christmas gift.

“Ho ho ho!”

Giving Harumi his best Santa laugh, Koutarou pulled out a colorful package with a ribbon wrapped around it. It was about as big as a comic magazine, but it was very light. The bundle rustled as Koutarou presented it to Harumi.

“Santa has a present for a good girl like you.”

“My...”

When she saw the present, Harumi’s eyes lit up.

“Is this really for me?”

“Ho ho ho, that’s right!”

Koutarou nodded at Harumi and handed her the present.

“Thank you very much.”

Harumi clutched the present lovingly to her chest as she lightly bowed to Koutarou. Her smile was positively radiant.

“That said, it’s not really something I’m proud of.”

Koutarou quickly began rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Knowing what was inside the package, he couldn’t help it.

“Can I open it?”

Harumi was so interested in the contents of the gift that she didn’t notice his embarrassed expression.

“Go ahead. It should be of use to you right now, but... maybe only ever right now.”

Waiting for Koutarou’s approval, Harumi carefully undid the ribbon around the present and peeked at what was inside.

“Ah, this is...”

Seeing what it was, Harumi’s expression grew even brighter as she hurriedly pulled her present out of the paper.

“A muffler...”

It was a hand-knit muffler, but one that was rather poorly made. Because the knitter’s skill was lacking, it was covered in snags and it warped to one side and then the other.

“Satomi-kun, you remembered...”

However, in spite of its quality, Harumi didn’t seem at all disappointed. Instead, she was beaming as she happily stretched it out.

Satomi-kun gave this to me...

It was the first piece of knitting that Koutarou had worked on when he joined the society that spring. That was why it was so shoddily done.

“I really was worried about giving you something like this as a gift.”

Koutarou recalled Harumi once saying that she loved the beginning of the first piece he’d done. She said it showed off his hard work the best. But even though she’d said that, he wasn’t sure if she would actually be happy to receive something like that for Christmas. There weren’t many people who would be happy about getting such a poorly knit muffler.

“No, Satomi-kun... I’m really happy. Thank you.”

But Koutarou lucked out. Harumi was one of those people. It wasn’t just that she had an appreciation for knitting, either. This muffler was chock-full of memories for her. It symbolized all the time she’d spent with Koutarou since the start of the school year. To Harumi, it was precious gift. She was thrilled that Koutarou had remembered her fondness for it.

He gave this to me as a present...

Harumi’s eyes began tearing up. She knew that Koutarou didn’t mean anything special by the present. He wasn’t that type of person. But she was so elated with the gift that she was almost sorry for that.

“Does it look good on me?”

Harumi wrapped the muffler around her neck and smiled at Koutarou. It looked almost as if she was dancing when she spun around to show it off.

“It doesn’t. Your taste in mufflers is terrible.”

“Silence. What makes a mere knight think he could criticize a princess so?”

“Hey, that’s not in the script.”

“Even I can ad-lib on occasion.”

It was still as cold as it had been, and it would only get colder as the night progressed. Harumi, however, no longer noticed it.

Headlights approached from a distance. Since it was a straight road with little traffic, the lights stood out rather well and Koutarou noticed them right away.

“Looks like the taxi is here.”

“...Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? Sakuraba-senpai, isn’t that how you’re getting home?”

“R-Right. I’m sorry.”

Harumi had been so absorbed in the muffler that she had completely forgotten about the taxi.

Ah, I almost forgot!

Harumi then remembered something else she had forgotten.

“Satomi-kun, I actually have a present for you too.”

Normally she might not have been able to muster those words, but the malformed muffler around her neck gave her courage.

“For me?”

“Yes.”

“But I haven’t been a good boy.”

“I don’t mind. I’m not Santa after all.”

But I think you’ve been a great boy, Satomi-kun...

Harumi giggled as she reached into her bag and pulled out something long and slender.

“Are those knitting needles?”

“Yes. I wasn’t very sure if something like this would make a good present for a boy though.”

Harumi had gotten Koutarou knitting needles made of bamboo as a present. They were wrapped in beautiful paper with a ribbon around them. When Harumi held them to her chest, it looked like she was holding a bouquet.

“Here, Satomi-ku—”

As Harumi went to hand Koutarou the present, she was seized by a strange sensation.

Huh...? Hasn’t this happened once before...?

Harumi was getting a strong sense of deja vu. She felt like this wasn’t the first time she had given Koutarou a present.

“What’s the matter, Sakuraba-senpai?”

Confused by Harumi suddenly falling silent, Koutarou tried to figure out what was wrong. When his voice reached her ears, a scene played in her mind.

“What’s the matter, Alaia-sama?”

“It’s nothing.”

Harumi was imagining Koutarou wearing blue armor and herself holding a silver sword.

I see. This is a scene from the play...

Thinking about it, she recalled that it was a scene from the new script. Ever since she’d gotten her hands on it, she’d spent any spare time she had reading it. She figured that must be the cause of her deja vu.

“It’s nothing.”

Harumi giggled and presented the knitting needles to Koutarou.

“I was just thinking that there was a scene like this in the manuscript.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right.”

Koutarou nodded, satisfied with the answer he had gotten. He then kneeled in front of Harumi. They both wore serious expressions. The scene Harumi was talking about was where the Silver Princess presented the Blue Knight with the sword Signaltin. In it, the Blue Knight and Silver Princess faced each other just like Koutarou and Harumi were now.

“Lord Veltlion, from now on this sword will protect you. From any enemy and any trial.”

“Then I will use my life and this sword to protect you, Princess Alaia.”

As they recited their lines from the script, Harumi placed the knitting needles in Koutarou’s hands. It was a masterful scene full of emotions they could never express themselves. And after Koutarou received the knitting needles from Harumi, the two of them burst out laughing.

“Ahahahaha!”

“Wahahahaha!”

“A-As if you could use bamboo knitting needles to protect anything! Pfft... Hahaha!”

“Wh-What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the one who said it! Ahahaha!”

Koutarou stood up as he laughed loudly. However, his footing was unsteady because he was laughing so much. Harumi bent forward almost as if in pain as she continued to laugh. It was a heartfelt, soulful laughter from both of them.

“Hahahaha, hah— Look, Sakuraba-senpai!”

“Oh?”

“Look! It’s snowing!”

The only thing that stopped their laughter was the snowflakes drifting down from the dark sky.

“My, it’s beautiful... And it just keeps on coming.”

Harumi stood there breathless at the beauty of the snow seemingly dancing through the air. As she reached up with her hand, she caught a few of the falling flakes. The fantastic view of the gently falling snow illuminated by the street light had her captivated. Koutarou, on the other hand, wasn’t looking at the falling snow at all.

The Silver Princess, huh?

Koutarou was looking at Harumi playing with the snow. The Silver Princess was only a role that had been given to her, but as he looked at snow-kissed Harumi now, the feeling that she’d surpassed that role filled Koutarou’s heart.

“...Merry Christmas, Satomi-kun.”

And when he saw the smile Harumi gave him as she turned around, Koutarou felt a strange sadness that he wasn’t actually the Blue Knight.